Reviewed by Cheryl K
TITLE: The Night Of
AUTHOR: Tal Bauer
PUBLISHER: Tal Bauer
LENGTH: 292 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 24, 2021
BLURB:
You’ve heard this story before: a guy supposedly kills himself, but his best friend can’t accept it. He calls in an investigator he knows to take a second look, certain there’s more going on.
I’m the investigator. Secret Service Agent Sean Avery. The guy who called me? My ex, Vice President Jonathan Sharp. And the guy he doesn’t believe put a bullet in his brain?
That was President Steven Baker.
The deeper I dig, the more things fall apart. I’ve got a dead president inside a locked room. A hidden note. A secret gun. A missing CIA officer.
And no one I can trust.
Now Jonathan’s in the crosshairs, and if I don’t figure out what really happened that night at Camp David, the love of my life might be the next president to die.
***This M/M romantic suspense features smoldering forbidden love and a May/December second chance romance that ignites your pages.
REVIEW:
Intrigue + sexy times = 5 Stars
The Night Of is another brilliant addition to this author’s resume. This story is a standalone and once again highlights his characterizations and world building. There is a diversified cast in this story from Foreign Leaders to Secret Service agents. In true Tal Bauer fashion, he incorporates an extremely strong female character, Colonel Lacy Hendricks – Chief Medical Examiner of the Armed Forces, into this story. Tal also draws on his vast knowledge of the alphabet agencies, creating an even more believable world and sucks you in the story even more.
What is the absolute worst nightmare for a secret service agent… Failing to protect the President. But who were they protecting him from – himself or a mystery killer?
Sean Avery is the Secret Service Agent on duty when the gunshot rings out across the Camp David compound. As he and his fellow agents rush into the President’s quarters to find him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
As the country mourns the loss of President Baker, the Vice President – now President – Jonathan Sharp, enlists the help of Sean Avery to ferret out the truth. Jonathan was the best friend of President Baker and from clues left behind, he suspects there is more to Baker’s death. After an intense drunken one-night stand with Sean a year before, Jonathan turns to Sean, the only person he trusts to solve the mystery of the President’s death. As the clues and evidence mount, the suspect list narrows. All the while Sean is trying to sort out the repercussions of the one nightstand. He feels guilty for his actions that night and cut himself off from Jonathan, as a form of penance. Jonathan thought he had finally found someone he could connect with and in the process give up control in certain areas of his private life. After his world implodes with the death of his best friend, he and Sean reconnect and clear the air about the events of their one-night stand.
In true Tal Bauer fashion this is just the beginning of the chaos. The more they dig into President Bakers death, the further away from the truth they seem to get. As Baker’s death switches from suicide to murder, suspicion falls on Jonathan for Baker’s death. Will Sean be able to save him in time? Will Sean and Jonathan be able to repair their damaged relationship? Will the investigation reveal the underlying cause of Baker’s death? To find out the answers to these and all the other mysteries in the book, go buy this one. You will not be disappointed.
As always, I have come to expect the best intrigue, steam, characters and plot twists from Tal. This one does not disappoint and is another stellar five-star read.
RATING: 
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